Milliput 101: Gap-Filling and Simple Sculpting for Cleaner Miniatures

How to use Milliput: cut equal amounts from the two sticks, knead them together until the color is completely even, press the putty into the gap, smooth it with a wet tool and leave it three to four hours to set hard. Milliput is a two part epoxy putty, and once cured it files, drills, sands and paints like the rest of the model. It is the classic cheap fix for the seams and gaps every assembled miniature ends up with.

How do you mix Milliput?

Each pack is two sticks, a resin and a hardener. Cut the same amount from each and knead them together by hand until there are no streaks left. The mixing is what starts the cure, and under mixing is the most common reason a repair stays soft. Once mixed, the putty stays workable for a while before it begins to set, so mix only what you need for the job in front of you: mixed putty hardens whether you use it or not.

How do you fill gaps on a miniature with Milliput?

Press a small amount into the seam with a tool or a fingertip, keeping both wet: water stops the putty sticking to you and gives a smooth surface. Overfill slightly, smooth it level with the wet tool, and leave it to cure. Milliput sets hard in three to four hours at room temperature, and it will even cure underwater. When it is fully hard, sand or file it flush with the model. Do not rush the sanding; soft putty gums up files.

Why is my Milliput still soft?

Almost always one of three things. Uneven amounts: the two sticks need to go in equal parts, so cut them side by side and compare before you knead. Streaky mixing: if you can still see two colors, the resin and hardener have not fully met, and those streaks stay soft. Not enough time: three to four hours is the set time at room temperature, and a cold room slows it down. Give it longer before you sand, and mix a fresh, even batch for the next repair rather than adding to a soft one.

Which Milliput grade should you buy?

All the grades mix and cure the same way. What changes is the grain and the color.

• Standard, yellow grey, is the general grade and the one to buy if you only buy one. Conversions, basing, terrain and repair work on metal, plastic or wood.
• Superfine White has a finer grain for detailed sculpting: fine textures, sharp edges and small features. The white suits lighter primers and paint schemes.
• Silver Grey is a finer grade too, with a texture that suits detailed sculpting and conversions as well as broader gap filling.
• Black cures to a true black, so a fill on a black part disappears without repainting.
• Terracotta cures to a warm terracotta tone, made for pottery and brickwork repairs and just as useful for terrain.
• Metallic cures to a hard, machinable finish with a shiny metallic effect, for shaping and repairing metal surfaces.
• Turquoise Blue sets to a distinctive blue, popular for jewelry and woodturning as well as modeling.

What else can you do with Milliput?

Sculpt simple details. Cloaks, hoods, rope, fur, or a part you have lost. Use Superfine White, work in small amounts with a wet tool, and build up in two sessions, letting the first layer firm up so it supports the second.

Build bases and groundwork. Press Standard or Terracotta onto a base and stipple it with a stiff old brush before it sets for instant rubble, rock and mud texture. Finish it with the Battlefields Basing Set.

Convert and repair. Bulk out a conversion, rebuild a broken part, or fill a hollow in a larger model. Once cured it can be drilled and filed like the rest of the kit.

Do you need to prime Milliput before painting?

Yes. Prime the whole model once the putty is fully cured, so the putty and the plastic take paint the same way. After that it behaves like any other surface. Our guide to painting your first army fast with Speedpaint covers the rest, and a wash picks out any texture you stippled into a base.

What else belongs on the desk?

Putty fills the gaps, but the glue makes the join. Our guide to the best glue for plastic miniatures covers which bottle does which job, and the first paint kit guide covers the rest of the kit. Every grade is in the Milliput collection.